In the spring of 1967, peasants of Naxalbari--a sleepy village of West Bengal, India--came out of their fields with traditional weapons to fight the establishment. They fought heroically but the moderately armed security forces suppressed them brutally, for a few years.

Even though it was supressed it made a significant contribution to the field of literature and gave birth to new paradigms, which were path breaking in practice and pro-people in nature. It redefined the relationship of student and education, artist and society, country and city, state and people, repression and resistance, violence and peace.

The influence of the Naxalite movement reached the farthest corners of the country. In Punjab, Paash--pen name of Avtar Singh Sandhu--was deeply influenced by this movement. He was one of those who had from the very beginning expressed their uneasiness over the prevailing discourse of romantic poetry in Punjab.

He was not even twenty when he first came to light with his anthology of poetry "Loh Katha" (The Iron Tale) in 1970. This anthology was a complete breakaway from romantic poetry.

Initially many "established poets" refused to recognize the "young lad." They termed his poetry a mere "rag of red cloth." But Paash was altogether different from his contemporaries, he never felt the need for recognition from pro-establishment critics. And his pen always gave them a befitting reply. That is why even almost two decades after his death, his poems still define the struggle.

It is an established fact that Naxalite writers had never written for the sake of fame. Most of them either lived the life of saints or of rebels and have written poetry from the battle fields. They never cared for honors. They wrote what they lived and lived what they wrote. Paash also never wrote for the sake of writing but it was his sensitivity and inner restlessness which motivated him to write. He never stroked his pen to become just a poet.

The poetry of the 20-year-old man challenged the establishment. And the impatient rulers implicated him in a fabricated murder case. He was imprisoned for two years. It was this time which played a key role in his ideological growth. He wrote his best poetry in jail on cigarette packs and smuggled it out.

After two years, Paash was acquitted and he became a celebrated poet of the revolutionary camp. His poems were translated and published in Hindi, Nepali, English and many other Indian languages.

In the early 1980s Sikh fundamentalists waged a war with demands for a separate country, Khalistan. Paash opposed the activities of the Khalistanis. While in the United States, to defeat the reactionary idea of Khalistan on ideological grounds, he started a newspaper named "Anti-47" (after the AK 47, the weapon Khalistanis used to kill).

History proves that the fundamentalist forces rarely indulge in ideological debates, they often suppress their critics with the gun. And the same fate befell Paash. He was gunned down by Khalistani militants on March 23, 1988 (ironically the martyrdom day of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, the revered patriots who were hanged by the British during the struggle for India`s independence). He was 37 years old.

They eliminated him physically at a very young age but his four anthologies of poetry "Loh Katha" (Iron-Tale, 1970), "Ud dian Bazan Magar"(Behind Flying Hawks, 1973), "Saadey Samiyaan Vich" (In Our Times, 1978) and "Khilre Hoey Varkey" (Unorganized Papers, publish posthumously in 1989) have become an integral part of the lives of people.

In the long list of revolutionary poets, Paash is another signature who "wrote what he lived and lived what he wrote." He chose his end consciously. But he was a warrior who never let his dreams die. That is why, September 9th his 56th birth day is being celeberated in Punjab by the peasants in fields, workers in mills and students in universities.

An excerpt from Paash`s last poem

"The Most Dangerous" by Paash

Most treacherous is not the robberyof hard earned wagesMost horrible is not the torture by the police.

Most dangerous isTo be filled with dead peaceNot to feel agony and bear it all,

Leaving home for workAnd from work return homeMost dangerous is the death of our dreams.

Most dangerous is that watchWhich runs on your wristBut stands still for your eyes.

Most dangerous is that eyeWhich sees all but remains frostlike,Most dangerous is the moonWhich rises in the numb yardAfter each murder,But does not pierce your eyes like hot chilis

THE bigoted mindset of the right wing Bhartiya Janata Party is full display these days. It had been trying hard either to communalize cultural issues by attacking artists and their creations or showing its intolerance towards any dissent. These are indeed the signs of not only perverted mindset but also extremely intolerant fascist tendency to attack poets, painters and artists. The latest to come under attack is the late Punjabi poet Paash who was killed by the Khalistani militants in Punjab when they found him opposing through his writings not only in Punjab but in Europe too.

Punjabi Poet Avtar Paash, who gave away is life like his ideal Bhagat Singh by confronting Khalistani terrorists, was subjected to most insulting treatment by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad in Rajaya Sabha debate recently on NCERT books. Paasha?s poem ?Sabse Khatarnak?, The Most Dangerous has been prescribed in Hindi book for class XI by NCERT from 2006. This is part of 20 per cent literature in translation from other languages. Paash did Punjabi language pride, when his poem was selected for all India syllabus of NCERT. It might be reminded here that Hindi translation of Paash?s poetry by Dr. Chaman Lal, a professor of Hindi at the famous Jawaharlal University was given Sahitya Akademi national prize for translation.

BJP MP told Rajaya Sabha that Paash was a Naxalite and how NCERT could teach a poem by a Naxalite. He also attacked writings of Dalit writer Om Prakash Balmiki, Sahitya Akademi award winner poet Dhumil and other major Hindi writers for being taught to students. He was also angry at internationally renowned artist MF Hussain?s biographical chapter being taught in Hindi text book.

Paash was the pen name of Avtar Singh Sandhu, who was born in Talwandi Salem, Jalandhar (Punjab, India) on 9th of September 1950. son of Major Sohan Singh Sandhu, Paash as a young senstive person was highly touched by the poverty, deptivation , exploitation of the poor and a rutheless state aparatus exploiting and torturing the masses in India. He started writing revolutionary poetry quite early in his life to describe what he saw and felt. During his youth, Punjab?s students, farmers and workers were embroiled in an armed struggle against the establishment--called the Naxalite movement. This period in the 1970?s is also known as the Jujharu (Rebellious) era of the politics of Punjab.

Pash`s first book of revolutionary poems, Loh-Katha (Iron-Tale) was published in 1970 when he was not even 20. Due to his sympathies with the militant movement and the provocative nature of his poetry, Pash, at the young age of 21, was falsely charged with murder. He spent nearly two years in jail, but was finally acquitted. After his acquittal, he became active in the Punjabi Maoist front organizations and edited a literary magazine Siarh (The Plough Line). Pash?s progressive poetry was widely published in the leftist media and was very popular amongst students, communists and the left-leaning intellectuals.

In 1985, the Punjabi Sahit Akademi (The Punjabi Academy of Letters) awarded him a one-year fellowship. He was well traveled and visited the USA and the UK in 1986. While in the United States, he produced a tract for the Anti-47 Front. He opposed the communal violence waged by the Sikh nationalists fighting for the creation of a separate country, Khalistan, during the early 1980s. This ultimately led to his murder at the hands of terrorists from his home village on the 23rd of March 1988, ironically the martyrdom day of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, the revered patriots who were hanged by the British during the struggle for India?s independence.

?The Most DangerousMost treacherous is not the robberyof hard earned wagesMost horrible is not the torture by the police.Most dangerous is not the graft for the treason and greed.To be caught while asleep is surely badsurely bad is to be buried in silenceBut it is not most dangerous.To remain dumb and silent in the face of trickeryEven when just, is definitely badSurely bad is reading in the light of a fireflyBut it is not most dangerousMost dangerous isTo be filled with dead peaceNot to feel agony and bear it all,Leaving home for workAnd from work return homeMost dangerous is the death of our dreams.Most dangerous is that watchWhich run on your wristBut stand still for your eyes.Most dangerous is that eyeWhich sees all but remains frostlike,The eye that forgets to kiss the world with love,The eye lost in the blinding mist of the material world.That sinks the simple meaning of visible thingsAnd is lost in the meaning return of useless games.Most dangerous is the moonWhich rises in the numb yardAfter each murder,But does not pierce your eyes like hot chilies.Most dangerous is the songWhich climbs the mourning wailIn order to reach your earsAnd repeats the cough of an evil manAt the door of the frightened people.Most dangerous is the nightFalling in the sky of living souls,Extinguishing them allIn which only owls shriek and jackals growl,And eternal darkness covers all the windows.Most heinous is the directionIn which the sun of the soul lightPierces the east of your body.Most treacherous is not therobbery of hard earned wagesMost horrible is not the torture of policeMost dangerous is not graft taken for greed and treason.?